Swedish musician proves he would go 500 miles for love after epic honeymoon

The Proclaimers sang that they’d go 500 miles for love, and that’s exactly what a Swedish musician did – and a little more.

Christopher Caird Dominique drove his future wife Tess and his four children the 3,500 miles from southern Sweden to Scotland for their nuptials.

And as if the trip wasn’t special enough already, the couple were married at Dunnottar Parish Church – where one of Mr Dominique’s ancestors did the same 200 years before.

Describing Scotland as “the most beautiful place in the world”, Mr Dominique revealed that it was here that he and his new wife fell in love.

He said: ‘When I first met Tess the first date we had was I hired a classic British car, an MGB roadster, and we drove around Loch Lomond and the Highlands .

“So Scotland has always been special to us since that’s where we first fell in love.”

Scotland feels like home

After further investigating his great-grandfather who was a Glasgow-trained violinist, he discovered that several of his relatives were from the Stonehaven and Arbuthnott area.

When he found out that one of his Caird relatives was married at Dunnottar Parish Church, Mr Dominique said he and his wife had agreed to be married there as well.

The 43-year-old added: ‘My six-times great-grandfather, he was born in Arbuthnott but then moved to Stonehaven, and he’s been there all his life.

“And in 1802 he got married in the same church where we got married, which is why I chose to get married there.”

The father-of-four said he had a ‘magical day’ for their wedding, which included a horse and carriage ride from the church to Dunnottar Castle.

Dressed for the occasion in the Sinclair tartan, the official tartan of the Caird family, he said Scotland felt like home.

“I would say it was a moving experience,” he said. “I think the culture of people in Scotland compared to Sweden is quite different. It’s a different sense of humor, and it’s a different sense of different things.

“When I came to Scotland and talked to people I felt I fit in with in a way that I didn’t always do when I grew up in Sweden.”

Rewrite of ‘Scotland’s Greatest Love Song’ for First Dance

As a surprise, Mr Dominique also recorded a version of the Proclaimers hit ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)’ for their first waltz as husband and wife by the River Dee.

He admitted he wasn’t sure his wife would like it.

“I was a little worried,” he said. “Tess comes from a very musical family herself. But then again, I worked as a professional musician for 30 years, so I should be able to get by.

“But since her dad is 94 and couldn’t make it to church, I made sure he played drums on the track.”

Mr. Dominique said the song was one of his family’s favourites. Calling it Scotland’s “finest love song”, he said it was the perfect song to sum up their journey.

“That’s why I chose to turn it into a waltz, because it was part of the whole experience where we were going for a fortnight, camping and spending time in Scotland.

“There couldn’t be a better anthem for a Scottish trip than The Proclaimers. It’s a brilliant love song. And the fact that we also had to cover over 500 miles.

I’d love a shout out from The Proclaimers

He added that he would be “thrilled” if the Proclaimers gave his version of the song their blessing.

“I left no stone unturned to make sure it would be the best thing I’ve ever done,” Dominique added.

“It might be the best job I’ve ever done. It’s the most honest I’ve ever been and I’ve had the help of great people.

Smitten for his love for Aberdeen, Mr Dominique plans to return next year to tour Scotland with the song and a few other releases.